Neil Young blames Apple

[PhilT]

I had no idea that an I-Pod could replicate the quality of a CD, all I ever hear is people bragging about how much they get on their I-Pods, never how good it sounds. I don't own one nor do I intend to. I like the comfort of 20-something CDs lying around in my car.

Uwe

You do have a Volvo, though, don't you? You could get a domestic hi-fi and a CD rack in there, and still have room for the drinks cabinet.

iPods are a bit of a special case, it's more of a lifestyle choice than anything. There's some viscious arguments in other places about how much audible difference compression makes and whether the players are good enough for you to notice anyway, especially in the car. I resisted for a long time, then gadget gas got the better of me. It's a Sandisk, though, not an iPod. The main criteria was I could see the screen without reading glasses. It sounds ok to me, but I've never been a hi-fi buff.

[Chris P.]

You have like 120GB iPods now. You can put a lot of CDs at CD quality on those!!!

[fur85]

When CD's first came out, Neil was complaining about how much worse they sounded than lps. He likes the old way. But for me it's a question of time. 25 years ago I had time to sit around and listen to albums and if I had time today, I would do that now. With life's demands, I'm totally happy to be able to listen to music in the car, in the shower, on my desk at work, while I'm making dinner, etc. I still have all my vinyl albums, but I sit down and listen to one from end to end maybe 3 times a year. In the car, there's no way I can tell the difference between a 256kb mp3 and a CD. Also, I think speakers are more important for the sound than the source. An iPod would sound good through the KLH speakers. And blaming Apple is ridiculous. They figured out a way to get some revenue for what people had been getting for free on Napster. mp3s would be the thing with or without Apple.